Uzbekistan will continue power supplies to Afghanistan in 2026, the Ministry of Energy said. The relevant contract was signed between the Ministry of Energy and the Afghan energy company Da Afghanistan Breshna Sherkat (DABS) following the meeting between the Minister Jurabek Mirzamakhmudov and the DABS Director General Abdul Bari Omar.
At the meeting, the parties discussed the progress of construction of high-voltage transmission lines and substations in Afghanistan, as well as ways to expedite this work.
Last December, Uzbekistan and Afghanistan extended the power sale contract until 2025.
Afghanistan produces approximately 250 MW of power domestically and purchases an additional 800 MW from Turkmenistan, Iran, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan, spending $250-280 million annually.
Following the completion of the 500 kV Puli-Khumri transmission line project, Uzbekistan will be able to increase its power exports to Afghanistan several-fold, Energy Minister Jurabek Mirzamakhmudov stated earlier, adding that the parties intended to complete the line within 18 months.
In September 2019, Uzbekistan's National Electric Grids signed a 10-year power sale contract with DABS. The Uzbek Deputy Energy Minister Sherzod Khodjaev then announced that the initial sale volume would be 4.2 billion kWh, with further increase to 6 billion kWh.
In August of this year, the Ministry of Energy and DABS signed agreements worth $243 million for the development of energy infrastructure. The projects include the expansion of the Surkhan-Dashti-Alvan and Kabul-Nangarhar transmission lines, as well as the development and construction of substations.
According to the National Statistics Committee, Uzbekistan exported $114.8 million worth of power from January to September, which is 1.5 times more than the figure for the first nine months of last year.
